


Car Accident

by JMount74



Series: Febuwhump [19]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Car Accidents, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29767629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JMount74/pseuds/JMount74
Summary: A simple road trip, that's all he wanted after the excitement of a couple of days ago.
Series: Febuwhump [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137590
Kudos: 5





	Car Accident

**Author's Note:**

> For Gumnut’s whump spin Hidden Injury + On The Road with Virgil and the Febuwhump prompt 25: Car Accident
> 
> This follows on from Field Medicine

Virgil stocked up his first aid kit and set off again, safe in the knowledge that he’d saved those men’s lives by being here.

‘Here’ was a tour of Kansas, the Wheat State as it was called, and he was enjoying cruising along in his truck, stopping when and where he felt. Before the accident, the first port of call was the old farmhouse where they had grown up. Sure, Mom’s ranch in Texas had been home some of the time, but most of the time home was Kansas.

In many ways it still was. Even though he had now lived on the island almost ten years, moving there straight from Denver, he still considered the farmhouse home. He’d spent a couple of days there with the current tenant farmer, ensuring everything was in working order and being thoroughly spoiled in return.

He’d then just meandered. Crossed over into Oklahoma briefly, up to Nebraska and back down to Kansas, no thoughts, no cares, just his truck and the open road. And the endless wheat fields. Some got bored of the sight, but having been away so long, Virgil relished both the sight and the sound of the wind through the wheat. They were both unique.

It was three days after the incident with the combine that it happened. Later, Virgil couldn’t say what had actually happened, but something blew the front tire of the truck and before he knew what was going on he was rolling. A lot. He’d rolled off the road and into one of the fields he’d just been admiring. And he was upside down.

Virgil hung there a shore while, getting his breathing under control and assessing himself for injuries before moving. He patted the dash both affectionately and regretfully. She’d been a good truck and had just saved his life, he doubted a car would have left him so whole. 

Unbuckling his seat belt and trying his best to fall gently onto the roof, he kicked out the shattered windscreen and crawled out. Standing up was hard, he might have been safer in the truck but that didn’t mean no injuries at all, and he was sore where the belt had held him at the least. His ankle decided to tell him it hurt too, and his shoulder was telling him it was very unhappy.

But if that was the extent of his injuries, he’d take it.

He picked up his bag, the water he had left and headed back to the road, whistling when he saw just how far he had travelled. Now he had a bit of walking to do. He’d passed a gas station not that long ago, and that was his goal. Virgil definitely did not want to call one of his brothers out for this – he’d never hear the end of it.

He set off, but it wasn’t long before his ankle began to protest, and he began to overheat. Kansas in mid-summer was gorgeous and hot, a different heat to the island, and he took off his usual plaid shirt and tied it about his waist.

The station was further than he remembered, and by the time he reached it he was out of water and, judging from the feelings of dizziness and sickness he was getting, possibly had a touch of heat stroke. Great. Still, he knew how to treat that, and he made his way to the cooler part of the shop, grabbing a couple of sports rehydration drinks on the way.

Typical. There was no phone. There was also no-one in the immediate vicinity that could help him, and it was becoming more and more likely that he’d have to call someone. That someone would be Scott, no way was he giving Gordon any fodder for laughter – or blackmail. Organising someone to pick up his truck, he set about calling his brother.

The conversation with Scott was predictable, his brother more worried than he was by any potential injury, and Virgil knew he was due some smothering when he arrived. In the meantime, he had to get somewhere where One could land – because of course Scott would come in One, ‘Virgil, you’re injured, and I need to check you over as soon as possible’ and no way his jet would get there that quickly – and the attendant showed him an area on the map about an hour’s walk away. Scott would get there before he would, and Virgil wouldn’t be surprised if he began walking towards him to meet him.

By the time the brothers met up Virgil was visibly limping. Scott frowned as he rushed forward to help. ‘I thought you said you weren’t injured,’ he chided. Virgil rolled his eyes. ‘It’s just a sprained ankle. All this walking hasn’t helped it.’ Scott hmm’d, unconvinced. ‘I’m checking you over as soon as we get home,’ he replied.

It wasn’t like Virgil hadn’t recognised that this meant the end of his vacation, but hearing it was still a disappointment. He sighed. Scott squeezed his shoulder before helping him to the jump seat and strapping him in, ignoring Virgil’s protests.

By the time they arrived home Grandma was waiting, and Virgil’s knee was so painful he couldn’t put weight on it. Hobbling down to the infirmary (because no way was he getting on a stretcher) almost made him pass out, and finally Virgil had to admit he must have damaged something else. When Grandma asked why he’d walked on a dodgy knee Virgil had replied that he hadn’t known his knee was injured, he thought it was just a sprained ankle.

Scans showed a small stable fracture to his patella, and he groaned. This would mean a couple of extra months off rescues, and he was soon fitted with a cast from just above his ankle to half-way up his thigh.

Still, he’d been lucky and he knew it, and he thanked his truck for saving his life.


End file.
